I am currently the Pastor at Jefferson Evangelical Church. I was the Pastor of Agape Family Fellowship in Albany a couple of years ago. Before that, I was the pastor at Buena Vista Community Church and Talbot Community Church. All the while, I was also Pastoring at Jefferson Baptist Church. I have been involved in helping to start five different churches in the area around Jefferson, and I was also involved in helping to start half a dozen churches in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The reason for all of that involvement is that I love the church; the church is the “Bride of Christ,” and the church is the “Body of Christ.” My love for Jesus is measured by my love for His Bride and Body, the church. I believe my commitment to Jesus, my Savior, is measured by my commitment to His “Bride” and His “Body,” the church. When I walked out of Jefferson Evangelical Church this morning, got into my truck, and looked back at the church building, I said to myself and the Lord, “I love this church. Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to be used by You to help make her beautiful for You.”

A lot of well-meaning Christians are very critical of the church. They love to point out all the problems and shortcomings of churches they know. I see a lot of issues and weaknesses in every church I am involved with. I probably see even more than the average person attending church because I have read and studied what a healthy church should look like. But I don’t complain about those weaknesses; I don’t tell others about those problems; instead, I do whatever I can do to fix them. I do that because I love the church; the church is the eternal Bride of Jesus, and the church is the Body of Christ. Jesus died for the church; He gave His life for the church. He is presently making His Bride beautiful and uses people to do that, but he doesn’t use critical and judgmental people; he uses humble people who love Jesus and show it by loving His Bride.

Colossians 1:24 The Apostle Paul said, “in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking”

Paul said, “I do my share.” If every Christian did their share on behalf of their church, the church would be holy, growing, and beautiful.

Years ago, I made a goal to build an airplane and learn to fly. I bought the plans and started researching how to build it and where the best place was to get the various parts. I never got started on it, and now I have zero desire to rekindle that dream. I also made a goal to learn to scuba dive and buy all the equipment so that I could scuba dive regularly as a hobby. I never even took one lesson, though I did find a place to take the lessons. Now, I don’t even swim in the ocean when we visit our daughter and family in Oahu, and they only live 100 yards away from a beautiful beach. I decided to take lessons, get my skydiving license, and buy a parachute. I never got started on that one either, though I have gone tandem skydiving three times and plan on going again. About ten years ago, I made a goal to build a sailboat and sail it to Hawaii by myself. I bought the plans, started building on the sailboat, and signed up to take sailing lessons in Portland. I still have the hardwood I purchased to make the ribs for the boat. I watched hours of videos of people who had sailed to Hawaii and was excited to do it myself. I made a goal a few years ago to buy some property in Alaska, start a gold mining business, and spend a couple of months each year working the mine instead of bicycle riding and fishing in the summer. I still might do that one; maybe we will see, but probably not. There are a bunch more goals like those that I have made, but I don’t share them for fear people will think I am crazy. For most of those goals, I did hours of research, reading, writing, and watching many YouTube videos. I had much fun dreaming about and pursuing goals that never materialized. This year, I have a goal to plant a 2,000-square-foot garden, become an excellent gardener, and grow all the vegetables our family of ten needs. I have purchased several books and have a dozen YouTube sites marked for further viewing. I also have a goal to put in a quarter-acre fish pond and plant it with largemouth bass so I can fish any time I want. I have a goal to build a 40×50 shop. My favorite goal for this year is to build a car from scratch and power it with a diesel Kubota engine, and I have already bought the plans.

I know so many people who don’t set goals because they fear they won’t be able to accomplish them. I have accomplished many more of my goals than I have failed at, and even the ones that didn’t happen were fun to dream about. Some might not agree with this statement, but I believe it to be true with all my heart. “People who set goals always accomplish more with their life than those who don’t.”

Now is an excellent time to think about and set some goals for 2025. You can do it; give it a shot.

I do so many things wrong, make so many bad choices, say things that aren’t edifying, spend money on things I don’t need, and get lazy when I should be working hard for the Lord.
Regret by itself is a paralyzing emotion and thought pattern. It makes you feel like a failure, a loser, useless, and good for nothing. However, regret as a stimulus for personal growth is highly profitable. One of the most important things for us to do in this life is to grow in character and become like Jesus. Regret should prompt us to think about and examine our lives and learn. Mistakes are a great source of wisdom if we learn from them. Life-long learners and wisdom seekers make the most of every wrong choice they have ever made so they don’t repeat them and learn from their mistakes.
One of the problems many have is that they never admit that they made a mistake, made a wrong choice, or sinned; it is the other person. One of the surest ways to stay a fool is to blame everyone else for your bad circumstances and relational conflicts.
God is delighted with the person who sincerely, accurately, and humbly examines their own life, owns their mistakes, confesses them to God, apologizes to people, and learns what not to do.

I am feeling in a groove right now, a good groove. I preached at the Evangelical church in Jefferson on Sunday. I preached a 15-minute sermon at a Memorial service on Saturday. I taught a 15-minute devotional at the Senior gathering; I taught in Leadership class last night for an hour; I preached a 40-minute sermon tonight at our Wednesday Night service; I will teach tomorrow night at Men’s Leadership I for 40 minutes, and then Leadership class II right after that for another 40 minutes. God sovereignly gave every one of us gifts and abilities. Mine is teaching the Bible, and when I do that, I feel His pleasure and power, which is very fulfilling and energizing.

Every person has a supernatural ability in some area designed by God to bless and edify other people and to build his church. Most people have not discovered what that giftedness is. If I didn’t know mine, I would not rest until I discovered it. I am fortunate in that while I was growing up in the church, I was given many opportunities to teach and share, and when I did, people would encourage me to keep at it.

The best way to discover how God has wired you is to listen for opportunities to serve in various ways. Keep experimenting and trying new things until something clicks. God wants you to discover your spiritual gift; he will lead and guide you if you move. I visited with a guy in our church who recently led someone to faith in Christ. As he told me about his experience, he commented, “I was made for this.” What are you made for? Find it!

Every evening, as I sit in my recliner, the first thing I do is check the news on what is happening with Israel. I have several Christian sources who know the Bible well and understand the significance of what is happening. Tonight, Iran launched 200 or so missiles into Israel. What is next? I don’t know, but I will check to see what happened tomorrow night. I believe the Bible is the Word of God, that Israel is the people of God, and that all of the prophecies in the Bible are true and will happen as prophecied.

Psalms 2:1-4 Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.

Steven Covey wrote the book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” It is not an easy reading book, but its principles are powerful. The first habit is to live your life with the end in mind; what exactly do you want to do with your life besides just live and do whatever? I like to declare that I am the world’s greatest fisherman. I know that I am not, but even if I was, that is not much of a legacy to leave behind after living 80 years. It is like, so what, who cares, what difference does that make? The other day in my blog, I said I had a goal to become the world’s greatest gardener; I don’t really, but even if I did have that goal and accomplished it, what difference did I make in anyone’s life? Who would remember that? So, what is my aim in life? What do I hope to achieve and be remembered for as a result of living my life? In a sentence, I want to be remembered as a man who taught the Bible accurately and in such a compelling way that all those who heard it understood it completely and were motivated to live it faithfully. There are many other things that I want to accomplish with my life related to my marriage, my kids, my grandkids, and other people, but the main thing is my teaching ministry.

So, if that really is the target of my life, it ought to influence how I live my life, how I use my time, the priorities of my choices all day long, and the focus of my prayer life. The more focused a person lives their life, the more successful they will be.

So, what are the things you want to be remembered for? If asked that question, many people will respond with a glib, “Oh, you know, just to be a nice guy that everybody liked.” Most people have not thought about it much. It is a habit of highly effective people; “They live life with the end in mind.” The best way to become that kind of motivated person is to develop the skill and practice of writing goals for your life. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9 that he didn’t run the race without aim, nor do I.

In his book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” Covey tells a story about a man who finds himself at a Memorial Service, looks in the casket, sees himself, and realizes that he has died and the service is for him. He listens to what people say about him during the service and during the fellowship time after the service. Covey asks, “What would you like to hear people say as they remembered the life you lived? His principle is that effective people live their lives with the end in mind; they live their lives with purpose.

Today was the memorial service for Aaron Donahue. It was a long service because many people shared about Aaron and his life, and it was packed with people who knew and loved him. Obviously, Aaron Donahue lived his life well and loved and served other people sacrificially. Even though it was a sad time because he will be missed, it was also a very joyous, upbeat celebration of the life of a man who lived and finished his life well even though he was only 41 years old when he died.

It is sad to think of the number of people who aren’t living their lives well, who are selfish, who make one bad choice after another, and whose love doesn’t go beyond themselves.

In our world of messed-up people and the daily bad news of the wrangling and fighting going on everywhere, a gathering like today’s was incredibly refreshing.

I have quite a few big goals this year on my list of 76 goals for 2025. I got a bit carried away while writing them and thought I should delete some of them. I can’t figure out which ones to delete, so I will just go for them and see what happens.

One of them is to revive my aquaponics system. Everything is still in place, and I should be able to get it going without much trouble. Instead of Tilapia, I will use trout, bass, or catfish for my fish part of the system. The problem with the Tilapia is that I had to heat the water, which added an enormous cost to the venture. It was a fun experiment, and I look forward to doing it again.

Another is to peddle my bicycle to Fairbanks, Alaska, and back. It will be a goal that I can accomplish because of having a support vehicle, taking breaks, and riding in the vehicle when I need to.

Another is to put in a quarter-acre fish pond and have it stocked with lots of bass so I can catch fish any time I want. It will be lined, have water plants around the edge, have a pump, and have a little waterfall that Patty will enjoy.

Another is to put in a 2000-square-foot garden and grow enough food for our ten-person family. I have never gardened before; I have always left that for the ladies, so I am reading many books on how to be the world’s best gardener.

Another is to grow the Jefferson Evangelical Church to be a church of 100 people in average attendance by the end of 2025.

Another is to start and finish writing two books.

Another goal is to recruit and train ten different churches to use my leadership class material to make disciples in their churches.

Another is to get my 26-foot dory in Alaska in tip-top fishing shape, learn how to catch halibut well, take four people out fishing 20 times, and limit out with ten halibut every time.

Any time I feel tired and unmotivated, I read my goals and get all jazzed up again. Try it.

Chuck Swindoll, one of my ministry heroes, announced his retirement from pastoring his church today. He is 90 years old and will spend time writing books, coaching pastors, and working on his radio broadcasts. I will be 76 in one month, 14 years from 90. I think I can preach and teach until I am 90; I will make that my goal anyway. I preached Sunday at the Evangelical Church, tonight at JBC’s Wednesday service, I taught a lesson at the Seniors gathering this afternoon, and on Saturday, I am speaking at a Memorial service. Tonight, as I sit in my recliner writing this, I am feeling good, fulfilled, and happy. I am incredibly blessed to be investing my life in doing what I enjoy and what God wired me to do.

Chuck Swindoll is an energetic 90-year-old who runs the race of his life with his eye on the finish line, which is way out in front of him. He has many goals that he is pursuing and can’t slow down until he reaches them.

I have so many goals I will have to live to be 120 to reach them all, and I really don’t want to do that; oh well, I will finish them in heaven.

I have so much fun writing out my goals for the following year. I am basically planning my entire life for the following year. Fishing trips, hunting trips, bicycle trips, visit kids trips, building projects, ministry projects and plans, learning goals, writing, and a bunch more. There are 365 little squares on my calendar and 24 hours each day, so I spend my hours on paper. I often counsel people on their finances and tell them to spend their money on paper, which is a budget, before spending it in real life. In finance, the budget ensures balance and responsible spending if they stick with the plan. Goals do the same. Balance is a significant reason I set goals. There is my family life, my ministry, my personal walk with God, my hobbies, my adventures, my physical home and its maintenance, my exercise, and my new adventures. As I write goals, calculate costs in money and time, add them up, rewrite, juggle, adjust, and recalculate, after a while, I arrive at what I consider the perfect plan for my life. While I am thinking and planning, I am constantly praying, asking God for wisdom and guidance, and seeking His will for my life.

One of the things that I know for sure because of years of experience in writing and pursuing my goals is that many things will change as I go through the year. I present my goals to the Lord on my birthday as my commitment to Him to bear much fruit for His glory. I pray, “Dear Lord, this is what I believe is Your will for my life, and I present it to You now. I know I have missed some things, so I am open to any additions, subtractions, and changes You may want to make, but in the meantime, I am moving full steam ahead in faith.

Many people don’t write goals. There are many reasons given, but with most, it is the fear of failing. Once we write goals, we have defined what success is for ourselves, and we would like to keep that fuzzy. People who write goals have more energy, passion, enthusiasm, fun, accomplish more, and have much more control over their own lives. This is an excellent time to write goals for 2025; you can do it.